Dell clings on as notebook sales surge

Dell hung on as the UK's top PC vendor while strong growth in shipments of notebooks drove the UK PC market to 11.2 per cent year on year growth during Q1 2008, figures from Gartner have revealed.

Some 3.1m units were shipped in the UK during the quarter, of which more than 60 per cent were notebooks, which enjoyed upwards of 40 per cent growth. Desktop shipments declined over 15 per cent in both the consumer and professional markets.
Dell shipped over three quarters of a million units, up 19.4 per cent on Q1 2008, and clung on to top spot with a market share of 24.6 per cent. HP continued to breath down its neck, swelling its sales by 27.3 per cent on last year and surging to a market share 22.6 per cent.

Acer stayed in third spot but endured a disappointing quarter, as shipments plunged 16.8 per cent and its market share fell almost four points to 11.2 per cent. Toshiba cemented its place in fourth, with a 26.3 per cent growth in shipments and a market share of 8 per cent, while FSC saw UK shipments decline 12.9 per cent to leave it fifth with a market share of 5.3 per cent. Shipments from all other vendors were up 10.3 per cent and accounted for 28.2 per cent of the market.

Gartner principal analyst Ranjit Atwal said: “The decline in pricing helped outweigh any negative influences driven by economic concerns in the first quarter of 2008. While the PC market is not immune to an economic downturn, continued strong mobile penetration helps to sustain robust growth.”